West Ham United manager David Moyes has been dealt with a key selection blow for their Boxing Day trip to Arsenal in the Premier League.
The Hammers will end a wait of over six weeks for a competitive match in a month’s time at the Emirates Stadium, but they have been dealt quite a significant problem for the second half of the season after French centre-back Kurt Zouma recent underwent knee surgery.
While it is unclear exactly how long Zouma will be out of action for, it seems virtually impossible that the defender will be back in action for the London derby on December 26, meaning manager Moyes will have to come up with an alternative to Zouma, who has started all but one of the Hammers’ 15 league games so far this season.
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As Moyes know has a month to weigh up what alternative to Zouma he goes with, here are three options that West Ham’s former Manchester United manager may want to look into.
Option 1 – Stick with 4-2-3-1
The most likely option seems to be how West Ham played for the majority of their 2-0 defeat to Leicester City prior to their break in the season for the 2022 World Cup.
With Zouma being forced off early on after struggling with a knee issue first seen during the warm-up, Moroccan £30million summer signing Nayef Aguerd replacing him for his Premier League debut.
Now that Aguerd is finally fit, barring any issues potentially sustained while at the World Cup with Morocco, he could well be the replacement for Zouma for a full league debut, partnering Craig Dawson at the heart of defence.
Option 1 starting 11: Lukasz Fabianski; Thilo Kehrer, Craig Dawson, Nayef Aguerd, Aaron Cresswell; Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek; Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, Said Benrahma; Gianluca Scamacca
Option 2 – The back three
For long parts of the season, Moyes has hinted at using at a back three on various occasions and Zouma’s absence could lead to that formation being tried out.
That could see Moyes use Thilo Kehrer and Aguerd either side of Dawson in a back three, with Vladimir Coufal and Aaron Cresswell starting as the two wing-backs.
With extra defensive reinforcements, there would be more license to play Declan Rice in an attack-minded midfield with Lucas Paqueta, who has played in a deeper role for Brazil at the World Cup.
Option 2 starting 11: Lukasz Fabianski; Thilo Kehrer, Craig Dawson, Nayef Aguerd; Vladimir Coufal, Declan Rice, Lucas Paqueta, Aaron Cresswell; Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma; Gianluca Scamcca
Option 3 – The 4-2-3-1 with a new midfield
Another option could well be to stick with the 4-2-3-1 but not just change the back, change the midfield too.
Rice and Paqueta could play as the deep midfield partnership, with Kehrer, Dawson, Aguerd and Cresswell as the back four and Said Benrahama, Pablo Fornals, Jarrod Bowen and Gianluca Scamacca making up the back four.
Another option could be Angelo Ogbonna to make his first league start next to Dawson, with the balance between Ogbonna and Aguerd likely to be more unlikely to work with both of them being left-footed.
Option 3 starting 11: Lukasz Fabianski; Thilo Kehrer, Craig Dawson, Nayef Aguerd, Aaron Cresswell; Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek; Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma, Pablo Fornals; Gianluca Scamacca
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